P and O GARAGE HUTCHINSON, KANSAS - 1915

[Terry Wiegand]

A friend of mine here in Hutchinson who works for an Architectural Firm gave me a copy of this old photograph.  The photo was taken in 1915 of the P and O Garage located on the Southwest corner of East First and North Walnut streets in downtown Hutchinson.  P and O was the dealer for Overland, Mitchell, Grant, and KRIT automobiles at the time the photo was taken.  Here is a question for the early automobile guys - can anyone identify any of these old automobiles?  Here is an interesting observation about the cars - there are numerous touring and roadster models in the group and not a one of them has a top up in place.  I personally find that very odd that that many open cars do not have at least a few with their tops up and in place.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

AACA Life Member #947918

[Larry Schramm]

Are the buildings still standing?

[41 Su8]

Many appear to be the same car. Standing in front of the Grant dealership, one could suppose they are Grants.

 

[Walt G]

I think it was planned that all would have the tops down to make a better presentation in the photo. If any had the top up it would look awkward to the eye and interrupt the flow of what you were seeing. I think this was a decision made for a good photograph not a random parking and no consideration as to what the end result looked like.

[Terry Wiegand]

The Hoke building (on the corner) is currently being restored and the dealership building is still in place with many modifications having been done over the years.  I did not know about this automobile dealership

being there until just the other day.  A lot happens in 107 years.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

AACA Life Member #947918

[allcars]

I think the cars with the bright radiator shells may be Oaklands -- perhaps "Oakland" became "Overland" over the years. The second car from the right appears to be of the racy speedster design Oakland produced in that period. Here is a photo of such a Speedster, restored and with non-period bumpers, I'm thinking. And, with a little searching on Newspapers.com, it is confirmed P & O were Oakland dealers in 1915 ... see ad.

[8E45E]

On 11/4/2022 at 9:34 PM, allcars said:

I think the cars with the bright radiator shells may be Oaklands -- perhaps "Oakland" became "Overland" over the years. 

Oakland ultimately became Pontiac after Alfred Sloan bought it out and integrated it into his GM fold.

 

Overland was a product of Willys.

 

Craig

[allcars]

Thank you for the factual comment, Craig, and for making me realize that I didn't phrase my own comment very clearly ... I meant it to suggest that perhaps over the decades, the car name "Oakland" became remembered as "Overland" by the town historians.

[nzcarnerd]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

Oakland ultimately became Pontiac after Alfred Sloan bought it out and integrated it into his GM fold.

 

Overland was a product of Willys.

 

Craig

Oakland was actually bought by Billy Durant in 1909, one of the first of his acquisitions after setting up GM.

 

Regarding Oakland/Overland, I think people have been confusing the two makes ever since and continue to do so to this day.

[modela28]

I believe the cars with the bright radiator shells are Grant automobiles.  However, the car at the very far left end is an Oakland.  Notice that the headlights are mounted lower than the other cars with the bright radiator shells. Notice too the difference in the Grant and Oakland radiator shells.  Also, the Oakland has a lower stance.

[32Pontiac6]

On 11/4/2022 at 8:34 PM, allcars said:

I think the cars with the bright radiator shells may be Oaklands -- perhaps "Oakland" became "Overland" over the years. The second car from the right appears to be of the racy speedster design Oakland produced in that period. Here is a photo of such a Speedster, restored and with non-period bumpers, I'm thinking. And, with a little searching on Newspapers.com, it is confirmed P & O were Oakland dealers in 1915 ... see ad.

Was the photo of the 1915 Oakland Series 37 Speedster taken recently?  This car was sold 3 years ago at auction and wondered where it ended up.  I think it is one of the most beautiful Oaklands made and would love to see it someday.  Do you know what part of the world it is in?

 

[allcars]

Wish I could help you locate its present whereabouts, but I took the photo at the St Johns "Concours of America" in Plymouth, MI on July 28, 2019 (after the April 2019 RM Auction sale), and do not have a record of the owner's name at that time. It is a really appealing car, and apparently only this '15 and a '16 are known to exist. If I can locate the show program and find owner info, I will report back to you.

[allcars]

After puzzling over the 1915 photo posted by Terry Wiegand for a few more days, we think we found the 1915 Grant Six that would logically be part of the photo. That’s it, circled in red on the closeup attached. It is parked cross-ways to the other cars, up on the sidewalk, not surprisingly under the Grant Six $795 signage!

 

The other cars from right to left, we believe, are as follows:

The first is a small four-cylinder Model M Grant. Next to it, a 1915 Oakland Speedster—a special sports model. (Additional online review of vintage newspapers reveals it very likely belonged to one of the dealership owners.)

 

Third from right is a KRIT touring car, a brand handled by P&O. According to the Standard Catalog, KRIT was all but done for by 1915, with remaining stocks of cars assembled to clear out the parts inventory. This was probably the last KRIT P&O had. Perhaps they took on Grant to replace the brand.

 

To the left of the KRIT are four 1915 Oakland Model 37 touring cars, with their characteristic slightly V’eed German Silver Oakland radiator. The curved windshield base and the way the upper body line flows smoothly into the cowl further seemingly suggests these are Oaklands. The Oaklands were no doubt P&O’s highest volume car brand, so it seems reasonable they would have a number in stock.

 

The first car to the left of the four touring cars may be a 1915 Oakland Model 49, a larger 123.5-inch wheelbase six-cylinder car. According to John Gunnel’s “75 Years of Pontiac & Oakland,” only 500 Model 49s may have been produced, in two body types. That would explain why the dealer only had one in inventor. The car to the left of the “Model 49” may be a predecessor 1914 Model 48 Oakland. One important clue here is that a rather large round cowl light is visible on this car. The Model 6-48s had such cowl lights, the 1915 Model 49s did not, as far as we can tell.

 

The next two cars to the left of the possible big Oaklands may be Mitchells, a high-end make carried by P&O. Reference for the 1915-16 Mitchells is hard to find, but from what we can tell, they did have a somewhat out of date look, and a tall hood line, as seen here.  The final car is another Oakland, a 1913 or ’14 model, possibly also a Speedster, with the broader V’eed radiator seen on those models.

[KLF]

1 hour ago, allcars said:

The next two cars to the left of the possible big Oaklands may be Mitchells, a high-end make carried by P&O. Reference for the 1915-16 Mitchells is hard to find, but from what we can tell, they did have a somewhat out of date look, and a tall hood line, as seen here

I agree with you that the 2 cars you think are Mitchells are in fact that. They could be 1913, 1914, or 1915.  They look very similar to the 14  6-60 sitting in my garage.

Ken

[Gary in MN]

•    A 7 3/8" x 3 3/8" felt pennant for the Grant Six.  

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by Gary in MN
Changed the size of the pennant (see edit history)

[allcars]

Nice artifact of a little-remembered brand.